The Hanu
Appearance The hanu are a race of man sized monkey's with fur covering all except the front of their face and the front of their torso. They are naturally more muscled than most humans with larger/longer arms as well. Hanu each have a dexterous and powerful tail that they can use for both swinging as well as for grasping tools. Each of their feet has long dexterous finger like toes allowing their feet to operate essentially like a second set of hands if needed.. Their fur is normally shades of brown to black, but individuals with other varieties do exist. On the top of their heads is human like hair that is normally black or brown independent of the fur color, though like their fur other hair colors exist in less common amounts. Traditionally the males wear nothing over their torsos while the woman only wear support for their chests, for both genders loose fitting pants with sashes are the norm for the lower body. Footwear is common but almost always has open toes so they can use them to pick things up or assist in hanging if need be. Hanu of especially high status don elaborate head garments made of gold and other precious metals. History The Hanu are an incredibly ancient species, their civilization originating back when the world was much warmer and the seas much higher. Most of the modern races of Thrae had yet to form in those days, the world had been ruled by those which are now little more than dust and ruin or primitive and stagnant. In that long gone era the Hanu were masters of the seas, sailing all across the world and inhabiting islands scattered across it. They ignored the empires of the day, and focused on exploration and setting foot on even the tiniest and most isolated patch of land within the waters. At some point as the world began to cool the Hanu all vanished, leaving behind little more than ruins as the seas shrunk and the land rose. Eventually even those ruins faded away or were built over and the Hanu were gone for countless ages as the world changed without them. What exactly happened to them is a subject of debate among the Hanu themselves but most will say they either went into a sort of magic hibernation, or were cursed and removed from the cycle of rebirth for an age or two. Around 20 years from the present day, Hanu reappeared on the island of Ruhnei'Sai. Many at the time reporting entire towns and cities there that hadn't been noticed by explorers or travelers before then. Their population is much smaller than it was back in their prime but they have quickly began to rebuild settlements in nearby islands, and trade with their immediate neighbors. Most of the outside world is a still a mystery to them, everything have changed since they were last around and the majority of the intelligent species being creatures none of them had ever seen before. Now they have begun sending out explorers to the various lands, to meet the new people and report back with tales for the Story-Tellers to add to the endless tales of their people. Religious Views Hanu religion is one that believes in a cycle of countless realms and worlds with an incomprehensible amount of lifeforms within each of them. They see their world as one that exists on a middle plane of sorts and when ones dies if their soul is enlightened enough or corrupted enough they either move up a level or down a level, and if more neutral they are reborn back into the current world. As such they seek understanding of things in order to progress their souls further and further, and hold no special religious significance on their own species viewing themselves as simply a mid level life form. Individuals who reach a true state of enlightenment are believed capable of skipping the rebirth cycle and reaching the highest plane possible where they can choose to be one with the Cosmos or be reborn on any plane to help lead others. Their religion explains all the new species as the result of entire species moving up or down the cosmic ladder, and new forms being created for the incoming souls. While there are many spirits in their religion the bulk of Hanu worship no actual deities and prayer is more of a sort of self reflection or trying to understand the cosmic patterns of the cycle itself. With how recently they were isolated the Hanu religious beliefs have yet to spread outside of them, and very little contact with other religions has spread to them in the modern era, as such almost all Hanu are still the local religion. Notable Traits The Hanu are very physically capable beings, with an incredible sense of balance and general agility. Being well adapted to move through jungles they are expert climbers and natural acrobats, capable of leaping under to high trees branches and flipping over/under various obstacles while they swing. That coupled with their ability to easily grasp with their feet and tail makes climbing most things come very easy to them. The Hanu are also very physically formidable with incredibly tough bodies and an average strength around 20 times that of a human male, with their grip strength being more like 50. While every Hanu is different they are naturally very curious and explore things through their sense of touch, as such Hanu explorers or known for attempting to grab and feel on everything not obviously dangerous. This applies to not just objects but people too, with those who have met a Hanu often saying that they were always trying to touch them or play with their hair. This often leads to conflict or confusion between them and others anytime they go to a new place and they begin to touch other people's stuff.